Mercantile France In The 18th Century Essay
According to Ekelund, the primary difference between Mercantile England and Mercantile France was that France had absolute property rights in taxation held by the crown until the end of the French Revolution (1799). This form of rent-seeking was successful for France, allowing a larger accumulation of wealth. Mercantile writer Gregory King estimated the “general income” of France in 1688 at £80,500,000 and of England at £41,700,000. While both the monarchs were eager to impose rent-seeking policy, the French crown was far more effective at enforcing it. Rent-seeking allowed the crown to control manufacturing which furthered military artillery production for their own benefit and consequently keep it out of their enemy’s hands during war. By
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British foreign trade was regulated through the protectionist policy The Navigation Acts. The Navigation Acts ensured trade would afford maximum advantage to the state through heavy regulation of trade ports and thus increased their ability to accumulate wealth making it a Mercantilist policy. According to Broadberry, Britain’s trade comprised 49% of the share of the rest of the world and 25% of the nation’s GDP in 1790. Britain had the largest share of European Trade, increasing their capacity for economic growth during the 17th and 18th centuries giving the nation more disposable capital for war and the opponent less. One example is the Navigation Acts’ taking away from Dutch power. The Dutch controlled a large portion of European trade and the Navigation Acts regulated the transport of foreign goods to England and its thirteen colonies, thus the Acts took trade power away from the Dutch. This resulted in the First Anglo-Dutch war where wealth and trade capacity became a primary factor in Britain’s military success proving that effective Mercantilist policy gives countries the tools they need to win wars. Smith believed that such protectionist policies helped strengthen Britain’s military capacity because it grew the empire, and thus the national wealth. The British Navigation Acts served as a monopoly in the sense that it heavily controlled trade to and from Britain; however, monopolies, as we will see in France, afforded the nation a military advantage by increasing the nation’s size in both population and
British foreign trade was regulated through the protectionist policy The Navigation Acts. The Navigation Acts ensured trade would afford maximum advantage to the state through heavy regulation of trade ports and thus increased their ability to accumulate wealth making it a Mercantilist policy. According to Broadberry, Britain’s trade comprised 49% of the share of the rest of the world and 25% of the nation’s GDP in 1790. Britain had the largest share of European Trade, increasing their capacity for economic growth during the 17th and 18th centuries giving the nation more disposable capital for war and the opponent less. One example is the Navigation Acts’ taking away from Dutch power. The Dutch controlled a large portion of European trade and the Navigation Acts regulated the transport of foreign goods to England and its thirteen colonies, thus the Acts took trade power away from the Dutch. This resulted in the First Anglo-Dutch war where wealth and trade capacity became a primary factor in Britain’s military success proving that effective Mercantilist policy gives countries the tools they need to win wars. Smith believed that such protectionist policies helped strengthen Britain’s military capacity because it grew the empire, and thus the national wealth. The British Navigation Acts served as a monopoly in the sense that it heavily controlled trade to and from Britain; however, monopolies, as we will see in France, afforded the nation a military advantage by increasing the nation’s size in both population and